The Tale of King Henry and His Squires

[It was a pleasant day, and the old monk decided to spend his afternoon
reading in the castle's gardens. Sitting on a bench under an old Oak tree,
he let the breezes ruffle his few remaining strands of hair, and thought of
the promises the delicious smells that wafted from the kitchen ovens had for
a spectacular dessert after dinner.

He had gone so far as to think of a nice nap when the sounds of a child
crying filled his ears. In looking around, Roger spied the source of all the
noise, and calmly called to the young girl.

"It's the other children," sobbed the little girl, "They say when I grow up
I have to be a drudge!"

The monk, apprised of the reasons for the tears, sighed and held the child
to his breast. "You know our King lets those who could not otherwise support
themselves work in his kitchen, or in his fields. It is hard work, but there
is no shame in that. But you are a bright child, and there are so many
things you may do when you grow up!"

"But My Ma is but a cook, and my Da is dead!"

"Oh, so it's THAT which is troubling you? Don't you remember what happened
to Robin the Page?"

"No."

"Well, sit here beside me, and you shall have a special story, all for
yourself!"]

It was springtime in the Kingdom of Good King Henry, and there was much
excitement in the castle. Tomorrow was testing day, and all the Pages were
busy, cleaning their clothing, washing their faces, and brushing their hair.
It would not do to let your appearance detract from your score.

"Score?" you ask? Yes, indeed. For testing day was when all the Pages
presented all the fruits of their training, and vied for the honor of being
advanced to a Squire. This year four Knights had indicated that they were
seeking new squires, and so everyone worked hard to prepare for the tests.

The morning was clear and cool, both good signs that the weather, at least,
was going to be favorable. Each Page tried their best in the four
categories: Dancing, Fighting, Numbers, and Writing. The events were spread
out through the day, with plenty of time for frolic and merriment, not that
the Pages themselves seemed inclined to make merry.

Robin the Page was very excited, for she had just turned twelve years of
age, and this was her first time in the competition. She wanted to do her
best, for her father and brothers would be there, and she hoped to make them
proud of her.

["Now remember," said the monk to the child, "that only the King, the Queen,
and her family know Robin is a girl. Everyone else just thinks her a
somewhat thin young boy, a bit small for his age."]

But things didn't go well for Robin that day. Her dancing was awkward; it
seemed that her growing legs just would not cooperate in the bransle, and
even the circle dances found her out of step as often as not. And the lovely
scroll of her numbers and letters, prepared with painstaking care, was
spilled on with ink when a Knight accidentally bumped her writing table. It
was not deliberate, of course, but there was no time to do it over, and had
to be submitted as it was. "At least the sums are correct." She said to
herself, "If you could only read them!"

The last event was boffer-fighting, and here Robin knew she had a chance to
redeem herself. As the smallest, she got to pick her first opponent. But as
she was about to pick one she was reasonably sure she could defeat, she
realized that even if she defeated everyone else, she would not score high
enough to become a squire this day. So she picked her regular sparing
partner, who but for her was the smallest one on the field. She fought to
win, of course, but her opponent knew her fighting style, and as chance
would have it, her partner's boffer got in a lucky blow to her head, and
down she went. "At least," she thought, "he has one win to his credit, and
maybe his overall score will be okay."

At the court held in the afternoon, the four winning squires were called
forth and presented with a token to wear at the night's feast. As each came
forward, Robin cheered for her brothers, for she thought of all the pages as
family, and if truth be told, they felt the same about her. Her fighting
partner was one of the four, as his writing skills were good, and Robin
herself had worked with him on his addition and subtraction. All were
congratulated on their excellent efforts, and court was ended, to give the
pages (and future squires) a chance to bathe and change clothing.

That night, the great hall rang with the noises of the soon-to-be-squires,
the other pages, along with their families, friends, and just about everyone
else who lived in the castle. Robin's family was there, of course, and made
it quite plain that they were impressed with her efforts, and surely she
would do better next year. At the other tables, the other pages were being
told pretty much the same thing, and all seemed to accept that the four who
won were good and worthy boys, and had won fairly.

But as the feast grew quieter, the page who had won the numbers prize
approached the King and Queen. "I don't deserve this" said the boy, "Robin
was the one who taught me my numbers, and if it wasn't for him, I could not
add two plus two correctly. This token should be his." And so saying, he
bowed to the Crown, and went away.

The King looked at the Queen and was just about to ask for her opinion when
a second boy approached the thrones. It was Robin's sparring partner, and he
told the bemused Monarchs how Robin had selected him for his first fight,
knowing that he knew Robin's fighting style best, helped him in his quest.
The solemn boy begged the King to give his token to Robin. He walked away
quietly, leaving his liege to wonder how Robin could be squire to two
knights at one time.

Now the King and Queen were . . .

["Do the other two Pages give up their tokens,
too?" asked the maid. "Yes, they did! Who's telling this story?" said the
monk as he tickled the young one. "Now as I was saying."]

NOW the King and Queen were prepared when the other two pages, one after the
other, came up and deposited their tokens in the astonished King's hand.

["I KNEW it!" "Very good, now hush"]

"He taught me to dance!" and "I could not
spell until he helped me." were the comments that accompanied the
no-longer-deserved tokens, and the King was left with 4 tokens, one
soon-to-be very busy squire, and 4 Knights who were going to have to draw
and quarter poor Robin if they each want her as a squire. But the Queen
smiled at her beloved, and calmly told him what to do in the morning.

Court began with the King calling the four token-winners of the previous
day. "I applaud your noble sentiments, but I and my Knights chose you as the
best of the day, and our decisions stand."

And then the four Knights seeking squires came forward, and having spoken
among themselves before the court, stood each by his new squire. The oaths
were taken, and each new squire swore to study hard and learn, while each
Knight promised to teach and care for their new student.

When all that was taken care of, the King held up the four token that the
no-longer pages had given him. "Call Robin my Page to come and kneel before
me!" commanded the King.

Wondering what she was doing there, the Page knelt obediently at her King's
feet, and then saw what he held out in his hand. "These, evidently, are
yours." Said the King; "But unfortunately we've run out of Knights who need
squires today."

"May I re-take the tests next year?" inquired the Page.

"Mayhaps," said the King, "But I think instead my Queen has a position for
you."

The Queen stood and looked down on her former Page. "Would you be willing to
return to my service?" asked her Majesty.

"To serve as your Page again?" spoke the Page.

"I don't think I need a Page right now," responded the Queen, "but I have
need of a Lady-in-Waiting!"

At this the entire court came to their feet. But the King's Herald called
out "SILENCE!" and the people returned to their seats, their mouths shut for
now.

The King then spoke, "It is our mind to advance you to the Nobility, for in
all your efforts you have shown yourself to be a diamond of the first water.
Your generosity to your brother Pages, your courtesy to every estate, your
courage, your honor, all tell of your noble worth" Then the King proceeded
to name Robin's deeds, from her saving the Queen's life, to her valor in the
battle against the Ogre, to her efforts to aid her brother Pages; and at
every stopping point the people gave up a cheer. Finally the King turned to
Robin and asked; "Shall you then accept, and be forever known as Lady
Robin?"

When the astonished Page nodded her acceptance, two of the Queen's maids
took Robin by each arm, and led her quickly away. The two maids returned in
but a moment, with, er, well, with a Lady! In place of her Page's tunic,
Robin now wore a gown of silk, a gown the Queen had saved from her own
youth, and had intended to pass on to a daughter, if God granted her one.
But she did not begrudge her new Lady one bit, and everyone admitted it was
if the gown had been made for Lady Robin.

And after that day, Lady Robin served her Queen, and grew in stature and
grace, her beauty and modesty the admiration of the court. And all of the
court learned the tales of her youth, and all believed it and marveled, but
for a few Very young Pages, who knew in their hearts that the King could do
ANYTHING, and lived model lives (mostly) from then on; assured that if they
were naughty, the King might make them into a girl, to punish them.

["And thus ended the tale of Robin the Page. Do you see that in this
kingdom, any who works hard and is good and kind shall advance, and the Lord
only knows how high or far!"

With that, the old monk sent the child back to her playmates. "She'll make a
good Lady-in-waiting also," he thought. He had just about composed his
thoughts for that nap, when."

"Good Roger, may I have a moment of your time?"

It was the child's mother, and in her hand was a small but overflowing plate
of . . . Cookies! As Roger munched his first, the good cook led him around to the
back of the garden, where the children were sitting around the little girl.

"I don't HAVE to be a Drudge! "She exclaimed, "Don't you remember what
happened to Robin the Page?"

"No." murmured the children.

"Well, sit here beside me, and you shall have a special story!

It was springtime in the Kingdom of Good King Henry, and there was much
excitement in the castle. . ."

And as the monk went back to the garden bench, his nap forgotten, and his
plate of cookies well in hand, he thought, "Maybe not a Lady-in-waiting,
maybe a story-teller? Ah, the Good Lord would choose, but indeed, that is a
higher calling!" And with that, this tale is ended, too.]